August 05, 2026

TechCrunch Top 3

Jeff Dean and other top AI researchers are leaving Google to launch their own startup: The legendary Google executive is joined by other outgoing Google execs in a joint mission to use AI to push forward the process of scientific discovery. Read More

Trump's DOJ gains oversight of OpenAI’s green-card employee sponsorships: The DOJ has alleged that OpenAI used various tactics to prevent U.S. citizens from applying for jobs held by immigrant employees when it was sponsoring those workers for permanent U.S. residence. Read More

How Lightspeed found its newest hire … via Instagram DM: Lightspeed partners Josh Machiz and Claire Zau stopped by the Equity studio to talk about the strategies behind their growing social media presence and their podcast, Lightwork. Read More

A message from AWS

Come curious: stay for the vibes.

We don’t gatekeep. AWS Builder Center has the resources you need to make your portfolio stand out.

Afternoon Must-Reads

Klaviyo acquires Elias Torres’ Agency in full-circle reunion for tech founders: The serial entrepreneur joins the e-commerce company as CPO to lead its AI agents. Read More

Robinhood to list a fund that lets anyone back Y Combinator startups: Robinhood's latest financial instrument intends to let any retail investor feel like they, too, can make money by backing Y Combinator startups. Read More

Moove raises $250M to become the backbone of the robotaxi industry: Moove is scaling up the autonomous vehicle fleet management side of its business and plans to someday own, not just manage, Waymo robotaxis. Read More

Zoox to start charging for robotaxi rides in Las Vegas: This marks the official launch of Zoox's commercial operations. Read More

Anthropic is hiring an AI chip design team: Anthropic is building a team for designing its own custom AI chips. The Claude maker said it would co-design hardware and models to help its technology run faster and more efficiently. Read More

Last but Not Least

As Gen Z reconsiders dating apps, Tinder's IRL events expand to dozens more cities: Tinder is expanding its in-person events feature from an initial Los Angeles test to 26 cities worldwide by the end of September. Read More

Check out some of our other newsletters:

StrictlyVC

TechCrunch Events

TechCrunch Mobility

Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here

Got a tip?
Get in touch securely.

Want to advertise on TechCrunch?

Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter.

Unsubscribe

Member Center

501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107